FRAMINGHAM - Neighbors of the Stearns and Brackett reservoirs spoke out Thursday against Framingham State University’s plan to take over 146 surrounding acres of state-owned land.

About 35 Framingham and Ashland residents who live along the Sudbury River came together to hear more details about the university’s plan.

FSU is the sole candidate interested in managing the land around Framingham Reservoir No. 1 and 2 as a wildlife sanctuary with public access for non-motorized boat use. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation, its regional director John Scannell told a crowd gathered at DPW headquarters, is drafting state legislation to arrange the transfer.

Framingham’s Salem End Road resident Stephanie Kowal said she worries about extra traffic and that the land is too big for FSU to control as students use the land and water.

"They’ll picnic, they’ll have beer parties, they’ll do whatever they want," she said.

She urged her neighbors to write to state legislators and ask them to reject the transfer.

University Executive Vice President Dale Hamel and Sustainable Policies Coordinator Carl Hakansson assured residents the planning is still in the early stages.

The university, as part of the free transfer from one state entity to another, would get $540,000 out of the Nyanza Remediation Budget to develop a stewardship plan and develop boat access and educational signage, among other work.

The university says it would use the land to create an outdoor laboratory for its students.

Seven or eight different departments, including wildlife biology, have expressed an interest in doing outdoor work there, Hakansson said.

He said the area now is an "attractive nuisance" that nobody’s looking after. The university, he said, would improve it by having a presence there.

While many residents are opposed or concerned about the plan, others support it.

"I think that we have an opportunity to bring education, recreation and beauty to the town," said Marilyn Spivack, who lives on Singletary Lane in Framingham.

Some said they want the right of "first refusal" and chance to buy the land they abut.

Cathy Rooney said residents, on one hand, feel like this may be a great opportunity. But it feels forced, she said.

"They feel like it's being shoved down their throat," she said.

Residents pressed Hamel and Hakansson for details on where public access points to the reservoirs would be, but the officials said they don’t yet know.

The officials said they will meet with residents again to continue the discussion and work through concerns.

Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dameden@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @damedenMW.